Bird flu alert in the Galapagos National Park, 32 dead birds found - Preliminary testing for 3 birds positive for H5N1

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.semana.com/mundo/articul...uertas/202330/

Bird flu alert in the Galapagos National Park, 32 dead birds found
Among the dead and sick birds sighted are Nazca and red-footed boobies.
Editorial Week
September 17, 2023

The Galapagos National Park activated emergency health protocols this Sunday following the report of dozens of dead and sick birds on two islands located north of the archipelago in the Pacific, which are presumed to be affected by avian influenza.

The director of the Galapagos National Park, Danny Rueda, told AP by telephone that this measure was taken after the discovery of 32 dead and other "dying" birds with "erratic movements" on Wolf Island, as well as an undetermined number on the Genovesa Island.

He explained that a team of veterinarians and laboratory specialists will go to Genovesa Island on Monday, located about 125 kilometers north of Puerto Ayora, to take samples to confirm “what type of disease is affecting them.”

Although it is presumed that it could be avian influenza, "which is the disease that has been affecting birds in the Pacific, both in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia," 24 hours will be required to confirm or rule it out, he emphasized.

Once the disease is determined, the second phase will proceed with the closure of visits in the affected areas "to prevent it from continuing to disperse due to tourist activity," said the person in charge of the Park.

Rueda specified that although there is adequate biosafety control on the islands, "we cannot control migratory birds that are the main transmitters of viruses," some of which pass through the Galapagos and share feeding areas with endemic or native species. archipelago.

Added to this is that certain species such as boobies and albatrosses can move at this time of year when they are in the reproductive phase and fly towards the continental zone, he explained.

Among the dead and sick birds sighted are Nazca and red-footed boobies, which are part of the 78 species of birds that the islands have.

Additionally, a warning has been issued so that tourists do not have contact or try to touch affected birds, since, if it is confirmed that it is avian influenza, it can be transmitted to humans, Rueda assured.

According to the experience in neighboring countries, such as Peru, avian influenza “can also affect sea lions,” he added.

In November 2022, more than 14,000 birds, mainly pelicans and boobies, died off the coast of Peru due to avian influenza, after which it declared a health emergency, followed by Ecuador, which detected a source of contagion on a farm in the central mountain range.
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Species such as boobies, frigate birds, seagulls, swallows, finches, among others, live on Genovesa Islands, with a surface area of 14 square kilometers, and Wolf Islands, with an area of 1.3 square kilometers.

The Galapagos Islands are recognized worldwide and attract an important national and international tourist flow due to their unique flora and fauna species in the world. They were declared in 1979 as a Natural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

In Latin America things have not improved regarding the virus, thousands of birds dead or slaughtered, hundreds of farms in quarantine and exports canceled is the preliminary balance of the avian influenza that is expanding in the region.

In addition to the measures that advocate the application of epidemiological fences and the adoption of vaccination plans, the authorities have determined the relevance of calling on citizens to increase the application of some of the well-known biosafety strategies that became popular during the covid-19 pandemic: correct and regular hand washing, as well as preventions when sneezing or coughing.

[Pathfinder]

Translated with Google

Galapagos Park@parkgalapagos
📄COMMUNICATION | We inform citizens that upon reporting of sick birds @parkgalapagosy@ABG_galapagos
They activated emergency health protocols. It is recommended not to approach them, not touch them, or pick them up and immediately contact the number 0988095539. Stay informed through official channels.



11:53 AM · Sep 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/parquegalapagos/status/1703467293160731121

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Galapagos National Park
4h ·

National Government implements actions in the presence of dead birds in Galapagos

In relation to the presence of dead birds on several Galapagos islands, the technical team of the Galapagos National Park Directorate (DPNG) and the Agency for Control and Regulation of Biosafety and Quarantine for Galapagos (ABG) are working on taking samples. and laboratory analysis to determine the cause of death of the animals.

Preliminarily, of the five specimens examined, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza; However, the collected material will be sent to the National Public Health Research Institute (INSPI) in Guayaquil, for confirmation.

Under this context, the National Environmental Authority in the archipelago has activated biosafety protocols to reduce the risk of dispersion of the virus. Among the first actions was the closure of the visiting sites where affected birds have been detected: Genovesa and Punta Pitt (San Cristóbal) and preventively Punta Suarez and Punta Cevallos (Española); In addition, a communication was issued to tour operators to strengthen the disinfection process of footwear and clothing when boarding and descending to other land visit sites, continuously disinfect outdoor common areas and auxiliary boats used for the disembarkation of passengers.

The DPNG and the ABG maintain monitoring of the habitat and nesting areas of endemic bird populations such as penguins and Galapagos cormorants and today deploy several teams to other parts of the archipelago to evaluate the situation. Naturalist guides and tour operators have been asked to reinforce observation and surveillance of wildlife behavior and immediately report to the established emergency line.

“This State portfolio deeply regrets the arrival of this virus to Galapagos. We have mobilized all our resources and experts to implement measures that reduce their impact on this unique ecosystem. However, we make an urgent call to the population: if you find sick or dead birds, do not touch them or pick them up,” said the Minister of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, José Antonio Dávalos.

Finally, it has been arranged that a specialized team will collect the dead birds and proceed with the corresponding final disposal to prevent the virus from spreading, as established by the protocol.

https://www.facebook.com/parquegalapagos

[Pathfinder]

Deadly avian flu reaches Galápagos Islands

Concerns rise for boobies, finches, and other endemic species

25 SEP 20234:10 PM ETBYERIK STOKSTAD

In a development that has alarmed conservation biologists, the avian flu strain that has devastated birds and marine mammals on five continents has reached Ecuador’s Galápagos National Park, home to species that are found nowhere else.

“It is extremely concerning from a conservation perspective,” says Marcela Uhart, a wildlife veterinarian at the University of California (UC), Davis. “Outbreaks could pose an acute threat to the future of these endemic species.”
...
Last week, tourist guides noticed dead seabirds, including frigatebirds and red-footed boobies, on two islands in the archipelago. Park rangers and technicians from Ecuador’s Galápagos Biosecurity Agency collected five carcasses: three tested positive. “We know this is the tip of the iceberg,” Jiménez-Uzcátegui says. “We have eyes watching the whole archipelago,” including park rangers, researchers, and tourist guides.
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Biologists have not yet identified which variant infected the birds. But it is likely 2.3.4.4b, the new highly pathogenic variant, says virologist Thijs Kuiken of Erasmus University Medical Center.
...
Managers have few options for slowing H5N1’s spread. Removing carcasses quickly appears to have helped in some outbreaks elsewhere, Puryear says. And because the virus can be spread on shoes, park authorities have already closed visitor sites on Genovesa and San Cristóbal islands where dead birds were found. They have also closed two important breeding colonies on Española Island, even though no birds have tested positive there. Jiménez-Uzcátegui thinks visitors should be temporarily banned from other key breeding sites, too.
...
One continuing concern is that the virus will jump from species known to be susceptible, such as gulls, to others so far less afflicted. The 18 species of Galápagos finches made famous by Charles Darwin, for example, live in close contact with large seabird colonies.

Disease is not a common cause of extinction, but contagious pathogens can push small populations to the point of no return, Kuiken says. Extinction risk is higher for species that only occur in one place, such as the Galápagos lava gull—the world’s rarest gull with just 300 breeding pairs. The Galápagos penguin is also only found on the islands, but it is related to the Humboldt penguin, which has had high mortality from H5N1 in South America.
...
Jaime Chaves, an evolutionary biologist at San Francisco State University who has studied birds on the Galápagos Islands for more than a decade, is coping with his worries by planning research. The Galápagos have always been a laboratory of evolution, and he wants to monitor how the virus, too, evolves there. “Evolution,” he says, “is taking its course yet again in this new setting.”
...

https://www.science.org/content/article/deadly-avian-flu-reaches-galapagos-islands